Drem Fen Dinokrov
by shiorioji
Summary: Desharo has lived with a trading caravan for as long as he can remember. When outside of Windhelm, his most valued possession was taken from him. He went into the city with hopes of getting it back. What he received, however, is far more valuable...and dangerous. Revised version of my other story, "Skyrim: Sixteen Years Later". More details in Author's Note.
1. Bron Dukaan

Author's Note: This is the revised (and hopefully better) version of Skyrim Sixteen Years Later. I'm choosing to do this because there are a ton of things that made no sense and a lot of ideas I originally put in that were scrapped (for example, I was originally going to have Ma'shira and Veshema escape the cave by swimming through a lake that led outside, hence the water breathing enchantment, but that idea was replaced by them leaving through using Ma'shira's Bats) and are now pointless. Because of that, I'm taking the old story (which I'm leaving up) and changing it quite a bit, but the basic plot is the same. Oh, and for anyone who read the other one, Ma'shira and Veshema are being switched out by two other characters, who have slightly different personalities. Nothing too drastic, though. I apologize if anyone actually liked them, but I don't so...yeah. If you're curious about why, message me and I'll explain. Anyway, rated for violence and Shonen-Ai. Please review.

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Elder Scrolls series or anything in Skyrim except my O.C. characters.**

My name is Desharo. From that, you can probably tell that I'm a Khajiit. If not, well, you know now. I moved to Skyrim from Elsweyr when I was only a cub, if being taken in by a Khajiit caravan heading to Skyrim counts as moving. My job in the caravan is to sell things to whoever passes by. Ja'grano, the head of the caravan, also sells things but gets much more money from it than I do. He has a way with words, often convincing even the most stubborn Nords to buy something. Most people are nice enough to buy something anyway depending on the town we're outside of. The only place even Ja'grano has trouble in is Windhelm. It's full of egotistic and judgmental Nords who hate anything that isn't human. They're always coming out of the city to harass us when they find out we're there, something that we find extremely annoying and very bad for business.

"Ah, hello friend. What can Ja'grano get for you today? A jewel? Some armor?" Ja'grano purred to a Dark Elf woman who had just left the large stone city. I was sitting beside the caravan's guard, Do'zefen, which could explain why I had not had many people coming to me.

"No thank you. I am not buying today," she said carelessly, starting to walk away.

"Ja'grano understands. Perhaps next time, you can see the enchanted Ebony Sword we have," he said with a sly smile. I couldn't help grinning myself as the woman stopped and slowly turned around.

"….you have an enchanted Ebony Sword. How in the world did you find that?" she asked skeptically, walking back over to him. He pulled out the sword and showed it to her. The edges were razor sharp and the dark sword itself was long, giving a good reach.

"We found it in a chest outside a Nordic Crypt while traveling. As far as we can tell, the enchantment is "Fire Damage" and a powerful one at that. Besides being tempered to such a sharp edge and point that it can easily cut through a thick wall of stone, it will also leave your enemies blazing," he explained while the woman ran her hand across the blunt part of the blade.

"I am no fighter but I could certainly have a use for this. How much?"

Ja'grano set the sword down and smiled again. "Usually, the price would be ten thousand Septims for such a rare and powerful sword. However, Ja'grano will sell it to you for only eight thousand."

The woman contemplated for a few minutes before pulling out a large coin purse and handing it to him. "Alright. Here you are, then. Eight thousand Septims." She picked up the sword and sheathe. "It was a pleasure doing business with you. I will certainly make a habit of coming out here more often if the caravans always sell this sort of thing."

"Very good as always, Ja'grano," grunted Do'zefen in her rough voice as the woman walked away. "I see you managed to scam another person out of their gold."

"There is no scamming. The sword is actually worth much more than ten thousand and Ja'grano should have sold it to her for as much. However, about nine thousand is the limit for most people and there is little chance of her having much more than seven thousand. Ja'grano took a risk and was lucky to get this much. No matter the item, they will not pay anything higher than ten thousand, however. Watch. Hello, friend. Can Ja'grano get you anything today?" he said to a Nord man in rather expensive looking attire who was walking by.

"That depends. What do you have?" he asked curiously.

"Actually, we have a very nice item in this time and very rare," he said, pulling out a beautiful golden necklace with a stunning diamond in the center. "It has an extremely powerful sneak spell on it. While wearing it, you are completely undetectable and you will even become invisible. It is normally worth fifty thousand Septims but since Ja'grano is feeling generous, it is yours for only eleven thousand."

The man took the necklace in his hand and looked at it closely. "Hmm…invisible, huh?"

"Yes and you know that Ja'grano cannot lie about such things. Having the guards chase the caravan would not be good for business," he answered with a short laugh. The man stared at the necklace for another moment before shaking his head and giving it back.

"Eleven thousand is too much, even for this. I would love to see what else you have but I cannot waste any more time. Maybe when you come back to Windhelm," he said, going into the city.

"See?" he said, grinning at the Khajiit warrior. "If even a noble such as him will not pay it for a useful necklace, a Dark Elf certainly will not pay as much for a sword."

She rolled her eyes but did not reply. Instead, she turned to me. "Please tell me you will not end up like him, able to convince a beggar to give up their last Septim."

I laughed. "I can only hope to be that good of a merchant someday."

"Alkosh help us," she muttered.

The rest of the day passed without many more people stopping by until it was nearly time for us to pack up and leave once more. I was sitting by the fire we made, hoping we could leave soon. Windhelm was definitely my least favorite city and I did not want to stay any longer than I had to.

"Great, the Nords are back. Ja'grano had hoped we could go a while without this," muttered Ja'grano. I looked up from the drawing I had been making in the snow that was not close enough to the fire to melt. Three Nord men with large battle axes were walking towards us, scowling.

"Look. A group of kitties. How cute," one of them sneered. Judging by the fact that the others seemed to follow him and by the way he held himself, he was the leader of sorts. He was also the biggest of the three in terms of muscle, though likely lowest in intelligence.

"Good evening. May we interest you in something?" asked Ja'grano politely, though I could hear the impatience dripping from his voice. He wanted them gone as quickly as possible.

The Nords laughed in unison, the two behind the other man stopping as soon as he did. "We don't care what you have. We want that circlet that the little kitten is wearing," said the Nord, pointing to my circlet. "It's not every day you see a circlet made from gold and emeralds." The caravan leader shot me a quick glance that said "This is your problem now, not mine" but put a hand on the dagger he always kept with him.

"I am sorry but the circlet is not for sale," I said, trying to keep my voice as calm and polite as possible. "There are others, however, if you are willing to buy." The Nord grabbed the front of my shirt and pulled me forward.

"Listen, cat. I said we want it, so give it to us. You beasts have no right to be in Skyrim anyway so it is the least you can do for all the trouble you've caused," he snarled, ignoring the sword and dagger now pointed at him.

"If you want it, you will have to take it from my dead body," I snarled back, all attempts at being polite abandoned.

The Nords behind the man pulled out their own weapons. "You really do not want to mess with us, cat," he growled. "Now give us the circlet and we'll be on our way."

"And why should I do that when Khajiit are naturally faster and better warriors?"

"Because if you don't, your friends here might not make it. And if you tell someone, they won't believe a word you say and you know that. So I will ask one more time: give-us-the-circlet"

I narrowed my eyes, wondering how I could get him away from me without giving up my circlet. I didn't have a weapon and there was nothing in the area I could use, so I raised my right claw and scratched him as hard as I could. He swore and let go of me, clutching at his torn and bleeding face.

"_Filthy beast!_" he roared, drawing his axe. The other two did the same and began swinging at Ja'grano and Do'zefen. The two blocked their swings but with difficulty. As much as I hated it, there was only one way to get them to leave...

"_Stop!_" I exclaimed, taking off my circlet. "Fine, you want it? Take it! Just leave us alone!"

The Nords put away their weapons, grinning. One of them snatched the circlet from my hand and walked back to the other two.

"Thank you. We will be on our way now," sneered the Nord whose face I had cut. He glanced at the ground. My drawing was still there. The Nord went over to it and erased it with his boot rather violently. He then turned around and went back to the city with the other two following closely behind him, all three laughing.

"Are you alright?" asked Ja'grano, sheathing his dagger and walking over to me.

"I am fine, thank you," I said, smoothing out my shirt. "He did not hurt me. I wish he did not erase my drawing, however. It was not important, but it was very rude of him to do so."

The caravan leader nodded. "Ja'grano is surprised that you are not upset about losing your circlet. It is the only thing you have left of them, after all."

"Do you really think I would just let him take it? I am planning to steal it back from him before we leave," I replied with a small smile. He looked as though I had just told him that I planned to jump off the top of the Throat of the World.

"Is there something wrong with you?" he snapped. "Ja'grano will not allow you to go into that city and become a thief! We have a bad enough reputation as it is!"

"I am not going to become a thief." My smile faded and I looked away, slightly hurt. I wasn't stealing anything…that belonged to someone else, anyway. "It does not count as stealing if you are taking back something that is your own."

"Ja'grano does not care. Pack your things, Desharo. We are leaving in one hour and do not even think of running off into that accursed city"

"Do'zefen, please tell me that you agree this is necessary," I said, turning to the female warrior as the middle-aged Khajiit began packing up. She shook her head.

"No. I thought we taught you better than this, Desharo. I understand not wanting to lose your circlet and if I was in your place, I would likely want to do the same. However, we cannot allow grief to cloud our judgment. You would die if you went into that city, even if we went with you. Now do as Ja'grano says," she ordered with an air of finality.

True to his word, we left Windhelm an hour later. I knew better than to try and go back while we were traveling but that does not mean I had let it go.

We finally stopped after a few hours. The tents were set up and Ja'grano and Do'zefen fell asleep almost immediately. However, I could not sleep. The idea of letting those Nords go free made me sick and the thought that they still had my circlet made it even worse. After all, it is the last thing she-

I got up from my bed as quietly as I could, shaking the thought from my mind.

_It is all over. There is no point in thinking about it_.

I didn't care what he said; I had to get it back. I slipped away from the tent and began running back to Windhelm. If I ran as fast as I could, I could get there and back before the sun came up assuming I found the man's house fast enough. I was just thinking of how lucky I was to not wake the others when I heard a gruff voice from behind me say "He only has your best interests at heart, you know."

I stopped running and turned around. Do'zefen was sitting on a rock, looking down at me. I guess I had been so intent on getting to Windhelm I had not noticed her.

"Why are you out here? I thought you were in the tent." I stayed where I was, preparing to run if she tried to stop me.

"Ja'grano knew you would do this so he told me to stay out here to stop you and knock you out if necessary." She jumped off the rock, came over to me and put her hands on my shoulders. "Desharo, I know how much you want to get it back from them but it is dangerous," she said with a more gentle voice than you would usually hear.

"I know but I have to do it. Forgive me but you cannot stop me, Do'zefen," I said, looking into her eyes. She chuckled lightly.

"Who said I was going to stop you?" she asked. "That circlet is all you have left of them now. I will let you go get it back, but I must come with you. Someone has to make sure you do not get hurt. Is this agreeable?"

"Of course," I said instantly.

"Alright. Before we go, take this." She pressed a sharp Elven dagger into my hands. "I know we never trained you how to use it but if something happens to me, at least you are not totally defenseless."

I nodded and sheathed the dagger, thanking her. With that, we ran off into the night towards the cold, stone city.


	2. Mulaag se Vokul

Author's Note: I'm so sorry for the long wait. When I get writer's block, I get it for quite a while. Anyway, something I should have mentioned last chapter: there will be a little bit of language, though nothing too bad. Please review. I still need as much feedback as I can get.

* * *

"Wait," Do'zefen ordered, stopping outside the gates to Windhelm. I stopped running, giving her a confused look. "I need to ask you something before we proceed, and if your answer is not the correct one, I am taking you back to the camp."

"Like you could stop me," I grunted. "Regardless, what is it?"

"What do you plan to do once you find your circlet and have retrieved it?"

I was ready with an answer, though I knew she would not like it. "Make him pay, of course. What else would I-hey!"

Do-zefen had grabbed my arm and was dragging me away from the city. I tried to pull away from her, but her grip was too strong. Planting my feet on the ground, I managed to tear my arm out of her grasp. She wheeled around and reached for me again, but I stepped backward so that her hand enclosed only cold air. The warrior gave up and crossed her arms. "I knew this was a mistake!" she growled. "I was going to help you get your circlet back, but if you were going to harm that man, I see no need. We are going back, and do not struggle anymore; I will knock you out if necessary. Now, come with me."

"No!" I protested. "You are not stopping me! I will even do this on my own if I have to! I can take care of myself, and I know what I am doing. The filthy Nord deserves it!" I turned around, but did not walk away. I simply stared at the gates looming over me. The longer I looked at them, the taller they seemed to get. I began to feel sick, so I went over to the side of the bridge and looked out over the partially frozen water.

"You have no idea, and that statement proves it! You are nothing but a cub, Desharo! You may be of age physically, but you still have a lot to learn! Revenge is not the smart course of action! It never is!" she nearly shouted, her voice becoming more filled with anger with each sentence. "I thought we taught you better than this! How is harming the Nord going to help you?"

"I told you: he deserves it!"

"And why does he deserve it?"

"Because he stole my circlet!"

"So why does that make you any better than him if you cause him harm?"

"Because what I am doing is fair. What he did is not!"

"No, but hurting him is not either! I think he is a terrible person to do such a thing, but am I getting mad at him for this? No, not beyond reason! I still think of him as a person!"

"_That's because it wasn't your circlet that was stolen!_" I yelled furiously, turning around and glaring at her. She opened her mouth to argue, but said nothing. The warrior sighed and came over to me, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"I don't blame you for being angry," she said soothingly. "Really. But please understand that hurting the man will not help at all. I will gladly help you get it back, but unless hurting him becomes strictly necessary, we cannot bring harm to him. Am I understood?"

I longed to tear myself away from her, march into the city myself and tear apart the Nord, but the mere thought proved she was right; I may be an adult physically, but I am far from it mentally.

"...yes. Can we go, now?" I muttered, facing the city gates once more. She smiled and nodded.

"Of course."

* * *

"Stay alert," Do'zefen warned quietly as we crept past the inn. Smoke rose out of the chimney, and a few drunk Nords stumbled out of the building. They paid no attention to us, leaving only the smell of alcohol behind. Besides them, the streets of the stone city were barren.

"Yes, yes. I know," I muttered, making a face at the putrid odor. The smell of alcohol had always been unbearable for me...

The warrior crouched down, hiding in the shadow of the inn. "I hope for both our sakes that you do. The drunken ones will either be a large problem or no trouble at all. There is not likely to be anything in-between. Besides them, the guards will not be pleasant if they find us. Khajiit are still not trusted."

I hid in the darkness as well, biting back a retort about her stating the obvious. Instead, I whispered, "How will we find him? I cannot remember his scent well enough to track it. Besides, all Nords smell the same to me."

"We will not have to go far. Nor will we have to rely on scent to track him. Look." She pointed to a man who had just come out of the inn, clutching his head and swaying from side to side as he walked. On his head was a golden circlet with an emerald set into the middle.

"That pathetic excuse for a man is wearing it!?" I growled. I unsheathed my dagger, ready to go cut him into pieces for putting my circlet on his worthless skull. Do'zefen shot me a warning glare. I hesitantly put the weapon back in its sheathe, keeping my eyes on the Nord.

The noble turned down an alley leading to the rich part of town. We followed him, keeping in the shadows along the way; we were sure we could take him in a fight, but he could easily call the guards or alert someone to our presence.

We stopped outside of a large manor. It looked remarkably well kept; flowers of all different colors adorned the front of the house, and the grass would have been emerald green in the daylight. He went inside the manor, but we stayed outside for another half hour at Do'zefen's urging.

"We must wait. Given his state of drunkenness, he will not likely do anything but get into bed and fall asleep quickly. Still, caution has never hurt anyone," she had explained.

Thirty minutes passed. I glanced at the warrior, silently asking if we should continue. She nodded, and we crept up to the door. She took out a lockpick, but paused for a second. She then put it away and turned the handle slowly. To my surprise, the door swung open silently.

"We are lucky," she smiled. "He was so drunk that he forgot to lock the door." The warrior stepped inside and beckoned for me to follow. I obeyed, closing the door behind me.

The inside of the house was magnificent, to put it lightly. Paintings that probably cost a fortune hung on every wall, while goblets encrusted with shining jewels lay on a large table in the room to our left beside golden plates. A bright silver vase stood on top of a small cabinet to the right of the door with roses made from what looked like jade and rubies stood inside it.

"Call me crazy, but he seems a bit...vain," I grinned, taking all of this in. Do'zefen offered a quiet chuckle.

"Yes, I agree. Still, if you have the money...why not, I suppose."

We split up under the agreement that, should trouble befall either of us, we would not fight and would instead leave the house immediately. She took a door at the far end of the hall while I crept up the stairs to the second floor. The steps led to a broad hallway with three doors on either side. It was not as shocking as the first floor, however; a few brown cabinets that sat against the walls were the only decorations.

The first door on the right led to a study with a large desk in the center and many bookcases filled with tomes.

_Nobody needs that many books,_ I thought, going up to them. As I got closer, I realized that he probably had the same thought process, as most of them were coated in dust. A few were about the history of Skyrim, a few about various trades and crafts; some were even about other countries. The only one that caught my eye was a book labeled, "_A history of the Khajiit_". I took it off the shelf and opened it, skimming through the pages. I had to stifle a laugh every few paragraphs, because the information in it was obviously false. For one thing, it said that Khajiit were just men that had been transformed by magic and banished to live in the forests of Elsweyr because their power was feared.

"Who the hell wrote this?" I chuckled, looking at the front cover. A name I had never heard of was written on the bottom part of the book, but it sounded Nordic. I was about to open it up again when I remembered what I was here for: my circlet.

"Crap...I've wasted enough time," I whispered to myself. I went to put the book back, but decided to take it with me after a moment of thought. It would certainly be interesting to talk to Do'zefen about this later. Besides, he stole from me. Now, I've stolen from him. After I got my circlet back, we would be even.

The door opposite the study led to a room that was far less interesting; it was almost completely empty except for a few chairs. Deciding that I didn't want to know, I left the room and went through the second door on the right.

_Thank Alkosh,_ I thought. The man was asleep on a large bed, still in his day clothes. Several bottles were scattered across the floor, all open and likely empty. A few gems lay on a small table in front of his bed, and on the table to his right was my circlet. I hurried over to it as quietly as I could, making sure to avoid the bottles, and picked it up. To my disgust, it still felt a bit warm from being worn by him. Resolving to wash it later, I put it on and grinned. I finally had it back.

I turned around and clapped a hand over my mouth to stop myself from yelling in surprise. Do'zefen was standing in the doorway, her sword in her hand.

"You found it. Good. Let's go," she mouthed, gesturing towards the stairs. I nodded and began making my way towards the door. I stopped at the end table with the jewels. Surely taking a few wouldn't hurt. Probably knowing what I was about to do, Do'zefen glared at me with a look that said "don't even think about it" before going back down to the first floor to wait for me. I rolled my eyes, but left the gems alone, glancing back at the Nord. He was still fast asleep, now muttering things under his breath. I took a step forward, still looking at him to make sure he didn't wake up suddenly. Unfortunately, the bottles on the floor had been forgotten in the euphoria at regaining my possession. I stepped on one of them and fell to the floor with a loud crash. To make matters worse, the book I had been carrying flew backwards and landed on the Nord's face, waking him up.

"Ow! Wha...who...who's there...?" he stuttered, still drunk, pushing the book away. I laughed silently. Although unintentional, hitting him with a book was probably one of the best things I had done all day. I knew he couldn't see me due to the darkness, so I stood up and watched him struggle to get out of bed. He began rummaging in his drawer for something. After a few minutes, that something turned out to be a candle, which he lit quicker than I expected. The Nord stared at me as light filled the small room.

"...who are...wait. I know you," he grumbled, his words slurred. "You're the-" He hiccupped. "You're the cat I took that circlet from...hey...you're wearing my circlet! Give it...back!"

He pulled out a dagger and waved it around. I wasted no time in running out of the room and down the stairs without any intention of keeping quiet.

"I assume he woke up and saw you," Do'zefen grunted as I tore down the stairs. I nodded, and we both bolted out of the house. Although we knew he was too drunk to follow, we ran into an alley, just to be sure. For all we knew, he had called the guards on us.

"We cannot leave the city yet," I said once we had stopped. "He will have expected us to leave right away. If he does call the guards, they will be more likely to search outside the walls than inside them."

The warrior nodded, and we took off running again, weaving in and out of alleys to confuse anyone who might be following us. We only ceased when we had to catch our breath an hour later.

"Do you...think we lost...them...?" I panted. She poked her head out of the alley, but apparently did not see any guards or angry Nords.

"...yes. I think we will be fine. The man was drunk, and will likely not be taken seriously anyway." She sat down, breathing almost as heavily as I was. I did the same, sighing out of both relief and exhaustion.

She stood up after ten minutes and stretched. "We had better get back to the caravan. If Ja'grano wants to know how you retrieved your circlet, I will say we went to ask for it back and he gave it to us. He will believe me if I tell him this."

"He'll believe anything you tell him," I said quietly.

"What was that?"

"Nothing. I was just pointing out that he seems rather fond of you."

"We are good friends, Desharo. Nothing more. Now, if you will get your head out of the clouds, we should-"

"Are we interrupting something?" a rough voice asked. Three figures walked up to us, all Nords. One wore steel armor, while the other two wore black hooded cloaks that concealed their faces.

"Oh, not again," I growled, unsheathing my dagger. I was really getting sick of this happening.

"Aw, that's adorable!" the Nord in armor smirked. "The little kitty wants to play! Who's your friend, kitty?"

"Desharo, ignore them. They are not worth our time," Do'zefen snarled, leading me away from them.

"_Desharo, ignore them. They are not worth our time_," he mocked, attempting to sound like a Khajiit. We disregarded him and started to walk away. Before we could, a giant wall of ice appeared in front of us, blocking the only way out. We turned to see one of the hooded Nords with his hand outstretched.

Do'zefen pulled out her sword and stood between me and the three men. "I will take care of them. Just stay out of it," she commanded. I agreed, but kept my dagger at the ready. She charged forward and slashed at the mage who had created the wall. He ducked and shot a fireball at her. The sphere narrowly missed her. She then blocked a swing from the Nord in armor, who was using two axes, and kicked him in the chest. He fell onto his back, but before she could finish him off, the mage sent another fireball at her. She picked up the Nord with difficulty and used him as a shield. The fire struck his armor, leaving it dented and burned and knocking both of them to the ground. The female warrior rolled onto her feet and stabbed the man through the destroyed part of his armor before he could react. He became motionless.

She wiped the blade clean. "I am not in the mood for this right now. Will you leave peacefully, or do I have to make you?" she snapped at the two hooded men. One of them chuckled before running up to her with unbelievable speed. He moved so quickly that, had I blinked, I would have thought that he teleported.

"Know your place, cat," he growled. The man picked her up with apparent ease and threw her against the wall with such force that it fractured and left a large depression upon impact. She cried out in pain before hitting the stone ground and becoming motionless as well.

"_Do'zefen!_" I yelled, running over to her. She was knocked out but still breathing, albeit just barely. The other man sauntered up to me, as though without a care in the world. I glared at him and stood, readying my dagger. He laughed and took it from me with no effort.

"I was hoping two Khajiit could put up a better fight," he said lazily. The man tossed the dagger into the air, grabbed it, and slashed it across my stomach. I howled in pain, kneeling and clutching my abdomen. Warm blood seeped through my shirt and onto my fingers. He smiled and broke the dagger in half as though it were a small twig, casting it aside while the other man watched. The Nord knelt as well and pulled his hood down. His skin was pale white, his face gaunt and starved-looking. His hungry, blood red eyes were sunken, and it looked as though he had gone several days without sleep.

"...you're...a vampire...!" I gasped, trying to stand up. The pain increased, forcing me to kneel once more.

He sighed and sat down in front of me. "Yes. It's not easy, you know. You have to feed every few days, people shun you, reject you...all because they don't understand. You probably already know what that's like, don't you? Yes, a Khajiit probably would know. An Argonian might as well, come to think of it. In any case, being a vampire is not all power and cunning. No, it's hard work and fear. A lot of fear."

"Why are you telling me this...?" I growled, looking daggers at the man in front of me. "If you're going to kill me...just...just do...it..." I was beginning to feel light headed from the blood loss, and it took a great effort to remain upright.

Without hesitation, the man leaned forward and bit me in the neck. I screamed in pain again, this time dropping to the ground beside Do'zefen. He withdrew and stood, covering his face with his hood once more.

"Why, you ask? Because, in three days, you will have to experience this, just as I have. If you live that long, anyway." He nodded to the other Nord, who picked up the man in armor and followed the vampire out of the alley.

_I'm going to die here..._ I thought as tears began streaming down my face and mixing with the pool of blood beneath me. _I...I don't want...to die..._ The last thing I saw was the unconscious form of Do'zefen, her armor smashed and her head bleeding. Then, everything became black.


	3. Laas Feim, Suelyk Alok

_ A light snow fell from the dark sky, blanketing the buildings and the ground. A few people wandered through the streets, while others managed their stalls in preparation for customers. Among the people navigating the large city were two Khajiit, one a young boy and the other a proud warrior. The warrior walked close to the boy, as though they wished to protect him from the evils of the city._

_ The two of them walked in silence for a few moments. Suddenly, the boy tripped over something and fell to the ground. He got up slowly, glancing sadly at his now bleeding hands, which he had tried to use to break his fall. He turned, wondering why the warrior was not fussing over him like she usually would._

_ She was gone._

_ The boy looked left and right, hoping to find her. She was nowhere to be found...but neither was anybody else. He began to run through the streets, hoping to find someone, anyone, but they had all vanished._

_ Right as he was about to give up, he saw a man standing in a nearby alley, watching him. He was wearing a hooded cloak, but the small part of his face that was visible was as white as the snow that was still falling. The boy walked away; something about the man didn't seem right to him._

_ He turned down another alley, only to see the pale man from before standing at the end of it. The boy turned and ran as the snow began to fall harder than before. He went down a different alley, but he was at the end of that one as well. The young Khajiit spun around and fled once more. By this time, the snow was falling so fast and so hard that it was impossible to see where he was going. Still, he kept running. All he knew was that he had to get away._

_ He stopped to catch his breath after a while, confident that he had lost whoever it was. When he looked up, however, the man was standing over him. He knelt down, removed his hood and grinned, pointed teeth bared. His ominous red eyes were the last thing the Khajiit saw before the world became black..._

My eyes flew open. I had expected to feel cold stone beneath me, to see the grey sky of Windhelm. Instead, I was lying on a soft bed, with a wooden roof above me. I sat up and realized I was in someone's house; a fire crackled peacefully to my left, while a few bookshelves and cupboards stood to my right, along with a single chair. On that chair was an Argonian boy, looking at me worriedly. His scales were a very light green, and the horns on his head were shorter than most Argonian's. He seemed to be about the same age as me and had a very scrawny build.

"You're awake. Good. How are you feeling?" he asked kindly, albeit nervously. The shock of waking up in a house had made me forget about what happened. However, I felt no pain from where I had been slashed with my dagger. I tried to get out of the bed, but the pain returned as soon as I tried, so I gave up. It did not hurt as badly as it used to, but it was still painful.

"Fine. Not that it's any of _your_ concern," I growled.

If he was offended by my remark, he didn't show it. "I healed most of your injuries, but I ran out of magicka to heal the rest. I can finish now, if you'd like," he offered as though he didn't even hear me. I rolled my eyes.

"Great, an Argonian mage who feels the need to jump into other people's lives. Everything I love rolled into one person. Look, I don't need your help. Thanks for healing me or whatever, but I don't have time to stay here." I tried to get up once more, but the pain doubled from the previous attempt, forcing me to lie back down. The boy muttered something under his breath and looked away. Just then, the door opened. Much to my displeasure, an Argonian man walked in. Judging by the look on his face, he seemed just as unhappy to see me as I was to see him.

"Who the hell are you?" he barked at me.

"Who the hell are _you_?" I snarled back.

"I'm Varzen-Ja. This is _my house_. You let him in, didn't you?" he asked, glancing at the boy. "Why?"

"I...I found him in an a-alley yesterday," he stuttered, still refusing to look at either of us. "H-he was really badly injured...I couldn't just leave him..."

The man crossed his arms. "Well? Is he healed?" he asked impatiently.

"S-sort of...I need a little more time-"

"I don't care. If he can make it out the door and die in the street instead of my house, he's fine. Get him out of here."

The boy was about to respond when another man, this time a Nord, burst into the room. He looked frantic and was breathing heavily, as though he had been running for a long time.

"What's wrong? Did something happen?" the Argonian asked, his tone much softer with him than it had been with me.

He took a while to respond. Once he got some of his breath back, he managed to say, "T-there...is...something attacking...the city...a...dragon..."

"_What?_" the Varzen-Ja exclaimed.

"Yes...It...just came out...of nowhere. We...need help." Varzen-Ja grabbed a nearby sword and ran out the door with the other man. He came back after a few seconds and said, "Get the Khajiit out of here right now, but make sure he doesn't get in the way." He then sprinted out once more, sword in hand.

"I'll heal you first. You aren't in any condition to leave yet," the younger Argonian muttered, placing his hands over my stomach and closing his eyes. A golden light emanated from his palms, spreading itself around me. A few moments later, the glow faded. I stood up and braced myself for any lingering pain. Much to my relief, I felt nothing.

"H-hey! Where are you going?" he stammered, standing as well.

"Nowhere with you, I know that much," I retorted. I began to walk out the door, but stopped before leaving. "If you must know, I'm going to look for a friend. No, you can't come with me. You'd probably just get in my way."

He grabbed something off of a shelf and held it out to me. "...here. I found this near you. I wasn't sure if it was important, so I fixed it just to be safe." The dagger that had been broken by the vampire was now in one piece again. I took the weapon and left the house without thanking him.

I had trouble believing that a dragon was attacking Windhelm. Besides the fact that everyone knew they were all wiped out a long time ago, I figured a dragon would be smart enough to not attack a city full of guards and angry Nords. The second I got outside, however, I saw that the man was right; several buildings were on fire, and a large, winged creature was soaring in the sky. A few Nords were shooting arrows at it while others ran away, screaming hysterically.

_Not so tough now, are you Nords? Anyway, I have to find Do'zefen before that thing ends up killing her_, I thought desperately. I sprinted to the alley where we had been attacked, but the warrior was nowhere to be found.

_Dammit. Alright...maybe she woke up. Wait, that's even worse! That means she's probably walking around injured with a dragon nearby!_

"Kid! What are you doing? Get out of here!" one of the Nords holding a bow shouted at me as I ran past. I stopped and asked him if he had seen a female Khajiit anywhere, ignoring his comment.

"What? I don't know! Uh...yeah, I think I saw one around the Palace of the Kings," he said quickly, returning his attention to the dragon. "Leave her, cat! It's too dangerous here! You-"

I ran off before he could finish his sentence. Upon arriving in front of the palace, I only saw a throng of people desperate to get out of the city, but no Khajiit.

"_Do'zefen!_" I shouted frantically.

"_Desharo!_" a gruff voice called back. The warrior pushed through the crowd in front of me. Her head was caked in dried blood, and she moved with a limp, but if she felt any pain, she ignored it. Do'zefen smiled and placed a hand on my shoulder, which was her version of a warm hug.

"It is good to see you again," she said.

"And you as well. Are you okay?" I asked. "What happened to you?"

"I'm more concerned about you, but we don't have time to talk. In case the screaming and fire did not give you a hint, there is a dragon attacking Windhelm. We must leave immediately."

I nodded and we took off, using any alternate path we could find to avoid the crowd. Despite her injuries and the limp she had a moment ago, Do'zefen moved as quickly as ever and, if it were not for the blood, I would not even know she was still hurt.

The gates of the city were in sight when we heard a loud and fearsome roar. The dragon landed in front of us, blocking our way out. It was bigger than any creature I had ever seen, and, strangely, also more beautiful. Its scales glistened stunningly in the sunlight, as though each one was a striking gem. The screaming brought me back to my senses and reminded me of what it actually was.

The beast opened its mouth and out of it came a torrent of fire. Do'zefen pulled me out of the way; the flames flew past us and struck a few unlucky Nords who were not able to move quickly enough. Their screams of agony were far worse than the ones of fear that were heard until then. The awful noise seemed to block every other sound out until the shrieks faded away. I couldn't help looking back. The only thing left of them was a pile of ash.

"Desharo, do not look at them!" Do'zefen exclaimed, moving between me and the dragon and pulling out her sword. "Just run! I will take care of the dragon. Go!"

I shook my head and pulled out my dagger. "I will fight with you. These Nords are not likely going to give much assistance, so someone has to."

"No," she said simply before pushing me to the ground and knocking the dagger out of my hand. With that, she charged toward the beast and began slashing at it. Although she hit it several times, the strikes didn't seem to do anything except annoy it. She dodged a bite, attempting to stab the dragon in its eye. The dragon used its wing to knock her away and started to walk towards me. I sprang to my feet, ready to kill this monstrosity. I readied my weapon as it roared and reared its head. Before it got the chance to attack, Do'zefen ran in front of me. The dragon and the warrior both lunged forward. Her sword lodged itself into the roof of the beast's mouth, but she did not get away unharmed; one of its massive teeth had sunk into her chest.

"_Do'zefen!_" I shouted, running forward. She let go of her weapon and sank to the ground.

I held her up, trying to think of something I could do. She smiled weakly. "...a dragon...killed by a caravan mercenary...this is one for the story books..." she laughed. It quickly turned into her coughing up blood.

"Do not speak..." I said softly, holding back tears. "You need to save your strength..."

"Listen to me, Desharo..." she whispered. "Do not grieve...I have done my job. I was..." she violently coughed up more blood and continued. "I was hired to...protect you and Ja'grano. That is what I have done..."

"I do not care what you were hired to do!" I cried. "You can't die...! Please! You're my friend! I do not want you to die!"

She chuckled. "Friend. Most people...would find me too irritable to be their friend...but you and Ja'grano...were different. Thank you...Desharo. My only regret is that I am leaving you two without...protection...and we both know you are hopeless...on your own."

I chuckled lightly myself. "Yes...we are. That is why we need you, Do'zefen. Ja'grano will probably get himself into trouble, and I cannot help him. So, please...do not die..."

The once strong and proud warrior sighed. "...Tell him...I am sorry...goodbye, Desharo...and...thank you."

Tears filled my eyes. "What? No! No, you can't die! Do'zefen! _Do'zefen!_" I called out her name as though doing so would heal her. She smiled one last time, closed her eyes and became still. I began to cry harder than I had ever done before.

A loud crackling sound made me look up. My vision was blurred, but it looked as though the dragon was burning. I wiped the tears away to see that the creature was encased in a white fire. From the fire, a strange energy rushed out and flew towards me. I closed my eyes, but felt nothing other than an odd surge of power. I stood up and looked at the creature again. By this time, only the skeleton remained, and the energy was gone. The screams had stopped and were replaced by a dead silence. The cluster of Windhelm citizens stared at me.

"...what...what was that...?" I asked nobody in particular. There was no answer. Then, from somewhere within the crowd, a woman with a beautiful voice sang out, "_Our hero, our hero, claims a warrior's heart. I tell you, I tell you, the Dragonborn comes. With a voice wielding power, of the ancient Nord art. Believe, believe, the Dragonborn comes._"


End file.
